Well, this is it. Today I have to finish my bucket list - see the last things to see, eat the last things to eat, say the last goodbyes to be said. :(
The past couple weeks have been really busy and really fun. I finished up all my schoolwork, most notably all of my artwork. Finished tour guiding at Palazzo Vecchio. Had my last monday lunch date with Amanda (a running tradition). Had my last drink at our favorite bar. Went out to dinner with all of my housemates for the last time.
Even though this program made it more difficult to assimilate into the culture, I still feel great about the experiences I've come away with. I saw so much art I feel like my head might explode! I ate so much I feel like there's two of me coming home (I even tried traditional Florentine steak this week - rare almost to the point of walking around). I think I successfully learned a bit of Italian! It only happened in the last few weeks, but I feel like I broke through the wall and can actually speak and understand. What a great feeling! I've been having a bunch of long conversations with Italians...in Italian! The only problem is that we can only talk about the past or the present because I never learned future tense in my class. I've never felt so comfortable with a language before and I'm really sad that I can't keep going with it.
Mostly, I'm so bummed to leave the people here. The most amazing thing happened with our apartment: our program threw 6 random girls together who lived together perfectly. Seriously, it was a dream. We all complimented each other so well and got along great, without having to spend all of our time together. I'm so going to miss hearing Sara and Kayla laugh hysterically in the kitchen while Ashley does art, helping Liat with her hair, coming home to Lauren asleep on the couch by accident. I'm going to miss cooking together, even when we weren't all making the same thing (most likely some form of stir fry). I'll even miss this rundown apartment, along with all the yelling in the street or the guys' music blasting in the apartment below us. It felt like a big family, which I guess is a big part of Italian culture anyway. I feel so lucky to have found that here.
Tonight my taxi is picking me up at 3am for my 6:50 flight. After another 18 hours of flying and layovers, hopefully I'll be at home!
Italia will miss you, and I will miss being in the same continent as you x
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